The outgoing year of 2025 has significantly transformed our access to the Web and the ways we navigate it. Radical new laws, the rise of AI assistants, and websites scrambling to block AI bots are reshaping the internet right before our eyes. So what do you need to know about these changes, and what skills and habits should you bring with you into 2026? As is our tradition, we\u2019re framing this as eight New Year\u2019s resolutions. What are we pledging for 2026?\u2026<\/p>\n
Last year was a bumper crop for legislation that seriously changed the rules of the internet for everyday users. Lawmakers around the world have been busy:<\/p>\n
Your best bet is to get news from sites that report calmly and without sensationalism, and to review legal experts\u2019 commentaries. You need to understand what obligations fall on you, and, if you have underage children \u2014 what changes for them.<\/p>\n
You might face difficult conversations with your kids about new rules for using social media or games. It\u2019s crucial that teenage rebellion doesn\u2019t lead to dangerous mistakes such as installing malware disguised as a \u201crestriction-bypassing mod\u201d, or migrating to small, unmoderated social networks. Safeguarding the younger generation requires reliable protection on their computers and smartphones, alongside parental control tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just about simple compliance with laws. You\u2019ll almost certainly encounter negative side effects that lawmakers didn\u2019t anticipate.<\/p>\n Some websites choose to geoblock certain countries entirely to avoid the complexities of complying with regional regulations. If you\u2019re certain your local laws allow access to the content, you can bypass these geoblocks by using a VPN. You need to select a server in a country where the site is accessible.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to choose a service that doesn\u2019t just offer servers in the right locations, but actually enhances your privacy \u2014 as many free VPNs can effectively compromise<\/a> it. We recommend Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection<\/a>.<\/p>\n While age verification can be implemented in different ways, it often involves websites using a third-party verification service. On your first login attempt, you\u2019ll be redirected to a separate site to complete one of several checks: take a photo of your ID or driver\u2019s license, use a bank card, or nod and smile for a video, and so on.<\/p>\n The mere idea of presenting a passport to access adult websites is deeply unpopular with many people on principle. But beyond that, there\u2019s a serious risk of data leaks. These incidents are already a reality: data breaches have impacted a contractor used to verify Discord<\/a> users, as well as service providers for TikTok and Uber<\/a>. The more websites that require this verification, the higher the risk of a leak becomes.<\/p>\n So what can you do?<\/p>\n It\u2019s highly likely that under the guise of \u201cage verification\u201d, scammers will begin phishing for personal and payment data, and pushing malware onto visitors. After all, it\u2019s very tempting to simply copy and paste some text on your computer instead of uploading a photo of your passport. Currently, ClickFix attacks<\/a> are mostly disguised as CAPTCHA checks, but age verification is the logical next step for these schemes. How to lower these risks?<\/p>\n Even if you\u2019re not a fan of AI, you\u2019ll find it hard to avoid: it\u2019s literally being shoved into each everyday service: Android, Chrome, MS Office, Windows, iOS, Creative Cloud\u2026 the list is endless. As with fast food, television, TikTok, and other easily accessible conveniences, the key is striking a balance between the healthy use of these assistants and developing an addiction.<\/p>\n Identify the areas where your mental sharpness and personal growth matter most to you. <\/strong>A person who doesn\u2019t run regularly lowers their fitness level. Someone who always uses GPS navigation gets worse at reading paper maps. Wherever you value the work of your mind, offloading it to AI is a path to losing your edge. Maintain a balance: regularly do that mental work yourself \u2014 even if AI can do it well \u2014 from translating text to looking up info on Wikipedia. You don\u2019t have to do it all the time, but remember to do it at least some of the time. For a more radical approach, you can also disable AI services wherever possible<\/a>.<\/p>\n Know where the cost of a mistake is high.<\/strong> Despite developers\u2019 best efforts, AI can sometimes deliver completely wrong answers with total confidence. These so-called hallucinations are unlikely to be fully eradicated anytime soon. Therefore, for important documents and critical decisions, either avoid using AI entirely, or scrutinize its output with extreme care. Check every number, every comma.<\/p>\n In other areas, feel free to experiment with AI. But even for seemingly harmless uses, remember that mistakes and hallucinations are a real possibility.<\/p>\n How to lower the risk of leaks. <\/strong>The more you use AI, the more of your information goes to the service provider. Whenever possible, prioritize AI features that run entirely on your device. This category includes things like the protection against fraudulent sites in Chrome, text translation in Firefox, the rewriting assistant in iOS, and so on. You can even run a full-fledged chatbot locally on your own computer<\/a>.<\/p>\n AI agents need close supervision<\/strong>. The agentic capabilities of AI \u2014 where it doesn\u2019t just suggest but actively does work for you \u2014 are especially risky. Thoroughly research the risks in this area<\/a> before trusting an agent with online shopping or booking a vacation. And use modes where the assistant asks for your confirmation before entering personal data \u2014 let alone buying anything.<\/p>\n The economics of the internet is shifting right before our eyes. The AI arms race is driving up the cost of components and computing power, tariffs and geopolitical conflicts are disrupting supply chains, and baking AI features into familiar products sometimes comes with a price hike. Practically any online service can get more expensive overnight \u2014 sometimes by double-digit percentages. Some providers are taking a different route, moving away from a fixed monthly fee to a pay-per-use model for things like songs downloaded or images generated.<\/p>\n To avoid nasty surprises when you check your bank statement, make it a habit to review the terms of all your paid subscriptions at least three or four times a year. You might find that a service has updated its plans and that you need to downgrade to a simpler one. Or a service might have quietly signed you up for an extra feature you\u2019re not even aware of \u2014 and you need to disable it. Some services might be better switched to a free tier or canceled altogether. Financial literacy is becoming a must-have skill for managing your digital spending.<\/p>\n To get a complete picture of your subscriptions and truly understand how much you\u2019re spending on digital services each month or year, it\u2019s best to track them all in one place. A simple Excel or Google Docs spreadsheet works, but a dedicated app like SubsCrab<\/a> is more convenient. It sends reminders for upcoming payments, shows all your spending month-by-month, and can even help you find better deals on the same or similar services.<\/p>\n The allure of powerful new processors, cameras, and AI features might tempt you to buy a new smartphone or laptop in 2026, but planning for making it last for several years should be a priority. There are a few reasons\u2026<\/p>\n First, the pace of meaningful new features has slowed, and the urge to upgrade frequently has diminished for many. Second, gadget prices have risen significantly due to more expensive chips, labor, and shipping \u2014 making major purchases harder to justify. Furthermore, regulations like those in the EU now require easily replaceable batteries in new devices, meaning the part that wears out the fastest in a phone will be simpler and cheaper to swap out yourself.<\/p>\n So, what does it take to make sure your smartphone or laptop reliably lasts several years?<\/p>\n The smart home is giving way to a new concept: the intelligent home. The idea is that neural networks will help your home make its own decisions about what to do and when, all for your convenience \u2014 without needing pre-programmed routines. Thanks to the Matter 1.3 standard, a smart home can now manage not just lights, TVs, and locks, but also kitchen appliances, dryers, and even EV chargers! Even more importantly, we\u2019re seeing a rise in devices where Matter over Thread is the native, primary communication protocol, like the new IKEA KAJPLATS lineup. Matter-powered devices from different vendors can see and communicate with each other. This means you can, say, buy an Apple HomePod as your smart home central hub and connect Philips Hue bulbs, Eve Energy plugs, and IKEA BILRESA switches to it.<\/p>\n All of this means that smart and intelligent homes will become more common \u2014 and so will the ways to attack them. We have a detailed article<\/a> on smart home security, but here are a few key tips relevant in light of the transition to Matter.<\/p>\n Eight digital New Year’s resolutions you absolutely need to keep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2722,"featured_media":25134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2088,1481,2719,577,187,43,695,321,131],"class_list":{"0":"post-25133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tips","8":"tag-tips","9":"tag-ai","10":"tag-fakes","11":"tag-messengers","12":"tag-passwords","13":"tag-privacy","14":"tag-scam","15":"tag-technology","16":"tag-tips-2"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/25133\/"},{"hreflang":"en-in","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/30066\/"},{"hreflang":"ar","url":"https:\/\/me.kaspersky.com\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/13070\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/29948\/"},{"hreflang":"es-mx","url":"https:\/\/latam.kaspersky.com\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/28857\/"},{"hreflang":"it","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.it\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/30380\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/41128\/"},{"hreflang":"tr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.tr\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/14155\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/55069\/"},{"hreflang":"fr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.fr\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/23493\/"},{"hreflang":"de","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.de\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/33067\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/30146\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/35834\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/most-important-cybersecurity-resolutions-2026\/35490\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/tag\/tips-2\/","name":"tips"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2722"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25133"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25138,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25133\/revisions\/25138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Master new methods of securing access<\/h2>\n
Brace for document leaks<\/h2>\n
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Learn scammers\u2019 new playbook<\/h2>\n
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Cultivate healthy AI usage habits<\/h2>\n
Audit your subscriptions and plans<\/h2>\n
Prioritize the longevity of your tech<\/h2>\n
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Secure your smart home<\/h2>\n
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